Ex-student says she was plied with gifts, sexually used

A civil suit filed last month in U.S. District Court in Michigan alleges school authorities failed to protect a student from a predator -- her teacher.

Raquel Mallett, 20, photographed at the home of a Dearborn Height, Mich. friend, has filed a civil suit in U.S. District Court alleging school authorities failed to protect her from a predator.(Photo: Kimberly P. Mitchell, Detroit Free Press)

Story Highlights

Student says she kept quiet because she felt 'trapped'

School officials say student safety is top concern

Department of Education says one in 10 students fall victim to sexual misconduct

Raquel Mallett was the new kid at the small Christian academy, and the assistant principal took a special interest in her, she says.

First came casual chats, followed by phone calls and texts. Within months, he started driving her home from school and befriending her family.

At 16, the gifts came — a laptop computer, clothes, horseback riding trips.

Then came the sex, she says.

"I don't want this to happen to anyone else," Mallett, now 20, told the Detroit Free Press. She filed a civil suit last month in U.S. District Court, alleging school authorities failed to protect her from a predator.

National statistics show it's happening at an alarming rate. According to the U.S. Department of Education, nearly one in 10 students in grades K-12 falls victim to sexual misconduct — ranging from inappropriate touching to sex — by a teacher or school official.

That's roughly 4.5 million students nationwide.

Frederick Lane, a Vermont attorney who researches teacher misconduct cases and the impact of technology on society, said educator misconduct is a growing problem.

"And it's one that technology is making worse," he said. "It makes it easier for those who are truly predatory."

Under Michigan law, the age of consent is 16. Having sex with a minor younger than 16 is considered third-degree criminal sexual misconduct, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Under a new state law passed last year, it's illegal for any school teacher or administrator to have sex with any student who is younger than 18.

School officials — including those at Peterson-Warren Academy in Inkster, where Mallett attended — say school safety is their top concern.

"The safety of our students is our highest priority, and we take seriously our responsibility to protect them," said Peterson-Warren Academy Principal Juanita Martin, who declined to specifically comment on Mallett's civil suit, filed March 18.

Under investigation

Mallett's lawsuit — against Peterson-Warren Academy and the North American Division of the Seventh-Day Adventists, which oversees the 49-year-old school — alleges school officials and teachers knew, or should have known, about the abuse she was subjected to but did nothing to stop it or protect her.

The academy has roughly 140 students. When Mallett attended, there were two assistant principals; a male and a female.

The Free Press is not naming the school official, now 40, because he has not been criminally charged, although a criminal complaint was filed against him with Inkster police. Police would not comment on the status of the case beyond confirming that it's under investigation.

When reached by phone at his Ypsilanti home, the man hung up on a reporter. It is not known whether he has hired an attorney or whether he has worked at any other school.

A school district spokesman said he is on administrative leave, and the school is cooperating with authorities.

"From the first day that we were made aware of these allegations, we contacted the appropriate authorities and began to aggressively investigate this serious matter," said Donald Bedney, a spokesman for the Lake Region Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists. "We are committed to bringing the investigation to a prompt conclusion."

The defendants have not yet responded to the lawsuit, so there is no attorney of record on file.

Feeling 'trapped'

In an interview with the Free Press last month, Mallett described her relationship with the school official, who is married with children. She said she kept quiet for years, fearing no one would believe her.

"I wanted to say something, but I didn't know who I could trust," Mallett said. "I felt completely trapped."

Mallett — in college now — is a soft-spoken young woman who prays regularly and has embraced the philosophy: "Stand for what is right — even if you stand alone."

It's a message she now hopes to teach others, she said, stressing she decided to go public to help other victims speak up and warn parents and teens about the trappings of predators.

"I wanted to come out and be open and just help other people," she said.

Mallett said her family was financially struggling when she came to the academy in 2007. At one point, Mallett, her mother and her brother moved in with a church family.

At school, the staff knew about her home life. The assistant principal in particular befriended her family, she said, buying her gifts, taking her horseback riding, swimming and out to restaurants, and throwing her a surprise open house party when she graduated high school.

"In the beginning, I really didn't understand what was taking place," she said. "My family was going through a lot. I was just completely overwhelmed. ... I wanted to say something, but I didn't know who I could trust, how the public would view me if I did."

Now, she said, she realizes the gifts and outings were part of the grooming process.

It started, she said, when he told her she looked like a gymnast. Within weeks, he was calling her after school, seeking out one-on-one time with her in class, and sending her texts and notes saying, "I love you," or "I miss you."

Sometimes, he would lock the door to the classroom and kiss and touch her inappropriately, she said. Sex followed in his car, hotels, his house and once during a 2009 senior class trip to Disney World.

"He took away my virginity," she said of the man, who was also her homeroom teacher. "I can never get that back.… He hurt me a great deal."

Mallett said she sometimes spent the night at his home, taking care of his kids. His wife and her mother both became suspicious over time, but Mallett denied anything was going on.

"I always thought that it was wrong, but he would justify it by saying he's really in love with me, that he's never done this before with any student," she said, adding: "I trusted him."

Mallett eventually disclosed her secret to a school chaplain, who reported it to authorities. She is now a dorm chaplain herself and helps counsel college students about troubles they may be facing — a job she believes has been inspired by her own ordeal.

"I was trapped," she said, "But now I'm free."

Lawyer: A classic case

Jeff Herman, a Florida attorney who represents Mallett and specializes in child abuse cases, said her story is a classic grooming case.

"They get into these trusting relationships," he said. "The predators are really good at figuring out what works with a victim. So by the time the sex starts … it's very difficult for the victim to see from the big picture what's happened."

Child advocates stress that minors can't consent to sex — and the law recognizes that.

"If there is an adult who is in a sexual relationship with (a minor), they are simply breaking the law. They are criminal," said Lane, who is currently writing a book called "Cybertraps for Educators," due out in October.

Terri Miller, president of Stop Educator Sexual Abuse Misconduct & Exploitation , a national child advocacy group, said kids such as Mallett don't stand a chance with predatory educators.

"Children don't have the finesse to recognize when they've been groomed," she said.